Wednesday, June 29, 2016

The Sanders movement after the Sanders Presidential candidacy

More videos from The Real News today. These two are from the recent People's Summmit in Chicago, a visible instance of the Sanders movement in the pre-convention moment when his Presidential campaign is effectively though not formally over.

[W]hile the candidate herself has managed to keep the triumphalism to a minimum, the Clinton campaign is starting to sound like the Athenian generals come to have a nice little informal chat with the Melians. For example, at the last meeting of the platform committee, Bill McKibben presented a very tough proposal concerning the misuse of the eminent-domain power in the construction of various pipelines and death-funnels. This was the issue that married environmental activists, Native American tribes, and cattle ranchers in Nebraska and elsewhere in opposition to defeat the Keystone XL project. It is a politically potent issue that actually can cross party lines. The proposed amendment stated:

Resolved, that the National Democratic Party: urges Congress and State legislatures to prohibit actions by federal and state government agencies that directly take or authorize the taking of private property for private gain; urges State legislatures to moot the impact of the Kelo decision in their States by appropriate legislation or constitutional amendments; and urges all federal agencies to create a consistent policy on eminent domain and on protecting Tribal Sovereignty rights. As Sec. Hillary Clinton said, "all agencies with project permitting and eminent domain authority to pursue a comprehensive strategy for modernizing America's energy that creates jobs, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, improves safety and powers a 21st century economy. This whole-of-government strategy will streamline an inefficient and patchwork permitting process while respecting landowners' property rights and improving transparency and public participation."

It would have taken nothing to pass this particular amendment which, if nothing else, would have been a tribute to an important victory for progressive grassroots. (As always, we should keep in mind that party platforms in election years mean little or nothing. I am not yet convinced that this year's is that different an election.) Instead, it went down, 7-6, along Clinton/Sanders lines. This was an easy vote. It wasn't like the anti-TPP amendment that was killed because the party didn't want to seem to be kicking the president in the shins. This was the Clinton people doing something merely because they had the votes to do it. It was politically tone-deaf, as well as being pretty awful environmental and land-use policy.

In the last 15 years, nearly 60,000 factories in this country have closed, and more than 4.8 million well-paid manufacturing jobs have disappeared. Much of this is related to disastrous trade agreements that encourage corporations to move to low-wage countries.

Despite major increases in productivity, the median male worker in America today is making $726 dollars less than he did in 1973, while the median female worker is making $1,154 less than she did in 2007, after adjusting for inflation.

Nearly 47 million Americans live in poverty. An estimated 28 million have no health insurance, while many others are underinsured. Millions of people are struggling with outrageous levels of student debt. For perhaps the first time in modern history, our younger generation will probably have a lower standard of living than their parents. Frighteningly, millions of poorly educated Americans will have a shorter life span than the previous generation as they succumb to despair, drugs and alcohol.

Meanwhile, in our country the top one-tenth of 1 percent now owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent. Fifty-eight percent of all new income is going to the top 1 percent. Wall Street and billionaires, through their “super PACs,” are able to buy elections.

In light of the anathema that Hillary supporter, DNC Chair, and BFF of the payday loan industry Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued against Sanders and his supporters on May 17, this is worth remembering, at least for a few minutes, Clinton Delegate Beats Sanders Supporter With CaneThe Young Turks 06/23/2016:

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